Screen door batch



Feb. 20, 1945. H. e. VOIGHT SCREEN DOOR LATCH Filed May '21, 1943 Patented Feb. 20,1945

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I Z'SGBIEENIDOGB Eamon v l iration: (if j Connecticut .v ADI-aims;

This invention rlatcs to doo r: latchesiandmore particularly to '--a tieiricse cif that *character which may? be enclosed in =-a iSlllbiblBGQSg and which i is {of simple and inexpensive iconstruction adapted particularly 'ffor :do'ors df Llight Weight, such as screen doors-f'for example. l

illtiihas generally been -the casein latches 'f 'this character now imuse that the same *are' ship'ped in disassembled ccondition so i that "they may; be contained in a compact packa'ge in orderito save shipping =:space. The mechanism of {the latch 'may ioe inserted into the "case prior to shippi'ng but -there iis tusually nothing to retain it in the case, and in that fash-ion 'the "parts very o'f-ten drop out ofithecase when the latch is'unpaeked. When this occurs, verykoiten theparts are not re as'senibled I in proper position withimthe case, or, if so, are only so assembledwithtiifi'icultyand with :an :expenditure dfuconsi'derable :time.

11"coritemplate 'in the present' invention to provide Fa melt-contained ilatcho'f this cha'racter wherein wall L 6f the latch -mecha=nism except it-he 'spindlemay"be enclosed within'*the--tubular *case "at *the f-actory and secured permaneritlythergain,

' so t-hatdtmay be shipp'ed Within "the'case and softliat there-will'be no-danger'of,the'parts'firqpping iQutb-cr the .case or becoming displaced. Moreover;thespindlefwhfle :not nounted within the case atthetime of shipment may' be; inserted through -transverse openings .in jthe case very readily atthe time ctheclatchis mounted the spinc'iIe'.-.being ,of "such construction .itbatit :is Ia very simple s atter. ,to...insert it in: therproperfipositionr'for operation. p I \onetobiect of "the present inventioniiszthe provision-of Ia ,door latch. of simple and-inexpensive construction the gpamsmr which are lSO arranged thatvtheyi may- ,beiperma-nentlyesecurediwithin the case;

A still further object of thejinventionl-is thegprovisiona'oftardoorilatchtof the type described having a detent formed integrally with the case for retaining the boltand associated parts therein. A still furtherobject of the invention is} the provision of a door latch of the character. described, having a simple and inexpensive arrangementfor retaining the bolt and associated parts in position within the case and also for retaining these parts from rotational displacement within the case whereby the latch may be readily installed upon a door without the necessity of reversing the position of the parts of the mechanism in the case.

To these and other ends the invention relates toibe'zhereinafter described and claimed.

.i-Inizthe zaccompanying drawing: I l' is a side alevaticnalz view ofia latchmm- #:bodying my improvements, some sparts'iibeing zshownninisecticn forithaisake'of clearness;

BF-igJ 2 -is a longltutiinal.nsectionalmiew: onfiline -2--*-'2 df Fi'g. 1;

iiig. 83 Bis a transversers'ec'ztional wiew on time dorms-the case ibeing partlyi close'd at the back as shown at all aadd being openafithe front end as at m forsthe proi'eetion therefrom dfi-the bolt =head l 3. -As shown the case is -integrally "formed an one' piece arid is devoii'l df seams.

*The belt -'[consists m me mead 1-: previously 'referred 'to, a s'tem M secured *to *the rear face *off the head and a crosshead t5 *at the rear end =df -the-stem-the' boltbeing slidably mounted in -the caseas is tlie usualg practice.

Also slidablyi mounted inthe' tubula-ncase I 0' is ia retraetingmember Mi 'df generally' 'tubular form having-openings I1 and I 8 betwee'n its front-and 'rear edges -through which the knob spindle is adapted to extend *as will be *described hereinafter; -At' its front end the eylin'drical portion of the retra'ctor is slotted as shown at=19'in such a manner as to provide shou1ders;.=20-and"2I at to protracted position. It will be obvious that each side of the slot. Thi's'-'provides a simple method (if securing the boit *to i the "*retractor '5' as the *crossh'ead [-5, on thebolvmay be inserted lateralglvinto the cylindrical portion of theretra'ctor with the-stem M lying'inthe opening l'9-and' the edges-cf pthefcrosshea'd Hi -lying behind the shoul de'rs -20 *and 2| so that, the "retractorq will draw yth'ejbolt -rearwa-rdly virh en it is "moved in that direction. Y

The retractorfis" also provided with an "intermediate partition 22 against which acts a compression spring 23 which extends forwardly "into the hollow stem I4 of the bolt to urge the bolt with this arrangement when thedoor is closed the bolt is permitted to be withdrawn into the case against the'tension of spring 23 without moving the retractor; "The retractor is closed at its rear end by a plug- 24 having thereon a reduced end 25, and as shown in Fig. 2 the portion 24 is provided with recesses 2t into which are staked portions 21 of the rear end 28 of the retractor so as to hold these parts together. A spring 29 acts against the rear end of the case and surrounds the portion 25 of the plug 24 to act against the retractor or the plug and thus urge the retractor to its forward position. It will usually be preferred to provide a spring 29 of some greater power than the spring 23 so that the retractor will usually be held inits forward position when the door is being closedand the bolt retracted by engagement with the strike plate.

The latch is provided with the usual knobspindle 30 having a crank portion 3|, which at its rear face is provided with a V-shape notch 32 i (Fig. 1) to cooperate with a complementarily shaped member 33 at the front end of the plug 24. As will be seen from Fig. 1, when the knob spindle is turned the lobe portions of the parts 32 and 33 will effect rearward movement of the retractor and thus retract the bolt to permit the door to be opened. The forward portion of the retractor is provided with a longitudinal recess 34 and a tongue 35 is struck from the tubular case, the

free end of this tongue lying within the recess so that while the retractor is permitted a restricting sliding movement within the case it is prevented from rotation and the retractor, the bolt, and associated parts at all times will be held in their proper positions with respect to the openings 35 in the case through which the spindle projects. Likewise, the free end of the tongue 35 will stand in the path of the upper portion of the partition 22 of the retractor so as to retain the latch mechanism within the casing. As shown in Fig. 2 of the drawing the retractor is held in a rearward position by contact of the V-shaped portion 33 against the crank portion 3| of the spindle so that when the lock is in use the tongue 35 will not usually engage the part 22. However, when the latch is shipped the spindle is usually not in its assembled position and the removal of the spindle permits the latch parts'to be thrust forwardly by the spring 29. In that event, the tongue'35 willengage the member 22 and retain the parts in assembled position within the case and in their proper position for mounting upon a door.

While I have shown and described a preferred embodiment of my invention, it will be understood that it is not to be limited to all of the details shown but is capable of modification and variation within the spirit of the invention and within the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. A latch bolt construction comprising a casing having an opening at the front end thereof, a bolt reciprocably mounted in the casing, a retractor also reciprocably mounted in the casing and non-rotatably connected with said bolt, spring means urging said retractor in a forward direction, means rotatably mounted in the casing for actuating said retractor, an integrally formed inwardly projecting lip carried by the wall of the casing and said retractor being provided with a longitudinal recess in which said lip is slidably engaged to limit forward movement of the bolt and prevent rotation of the retractor within the casing.

2. A latch bolt construction comprising a casing having an opening at the front end thereof, a bolt reciprocably mounted in the casing, a retractor also reciprocably mounted in the casing and non-rotatably connected with said bolt, said bolt and retractor being insertable through said opening, spring means urging said retractor in a forward direction, means rotatably mounted in the casing for actuating said retractor, and said retractor being provided with a longitudinal recess adjacent the casing wall and said wall hav ing an integrallyformed, inwardly projecting lip extending into said recess and engaging a part of the retractor at its rear end to prevent rotation of the retractor and retain it within the casing.

3. A latch bolt construction comprising a tubular casing of uniform diameter having anopening at the front end thereof, a bolt reciprocably mounted in the casing, aretractor also reciprocably mounted in, the casing and connected with said bolt, said bolt and retractor being insertable into the casing through said opening, spring means urging said retractor in a forward direction, means rotatably mounted in the casing for actuating said retractor, said bolt being detachably non-rotatably, connected to said retractor, said connection comprising a stem on the bolt extending through an opening in the retractor and a crosshead on said stem engaging behind a portion of the retractor additional spring means to urge said bolt forwardly relatively to the retractor and interengaging means on said casing and retractor to prevent retraction of the latter and retain it in the casing.

4. A latch bolt construction comprising a casing having an opening at the front end thereof. said casing being of cylindrical form and of uniform diameter, a bolt reciprocably mounted in the casing, a retractor also reciprocably mounted in the casing and connected with said bolt, said bolt and retractor being insertable into the casing through said opening, spring means urging said retractor in a forward direction, means rotatably mounted in the casing for actuating said retractor, means formed integrally with the casing for retaining saidbolt therein, said means comprising an inwardly projecting lip on the casing and said retractor having an opening in which said lip is slidably received, said bolt being detachably connected to said'retractor and said connection comprising a stem on the bolt extending through an opening in the retractor and a crosshead on said stem'engaging behind a portion of the retractor, and a spring acting at one end against the bolt and at its rear end against a part of the retractor to urge the bolt forwardly with respect to the retractor.

HENRY G. VOIGI-IT. 

